Atna and Canyon Announce Closing of Merger

VANCOUVER/GOLDEN, CO- Atna Resources Ltd. and Canyon Resources Corporation reported the closing of the merger as of March 18, 2008 pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated November 16, 2007. Atna has acquired all of Canyon's issued and outstanding shares of common stock, warrants and debentures. Canyon is now a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Atna.
As a result of the merger, Atna has created a strong platform for gold production growth with the following characteristics: 1) A multi-million ounce gold company highly leveraged to the price of gold. 2) Near term gold production opportunities from the restart of the Briggs Mine, development of the Reward and Pinson projects with strong upside potential from the combined portfolio of gold
development, exploration and royalty properties; and leverage to the uranium market through carried uranium exploration joint ventures.
David Watkins, CEO and Chairman of Atna, said, "This merger combines the management team, resources, and financial strength needed to create an exciting junior gold producer focused on the western United States."
Jim Hesketh, the new President and COO of Atna, added, "Our priority will be to restart operations at the Briggs gold mine in California with gold production projected to commence in early 2009. The planned development of our Reward gold project in Nevada will significantly add to our production stream, subject to the issuance of the final mining permits and financing. In addition, we expect our venture partner, Pinson Mining Company, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, to continue the exploration and underground development of the Pinson gold project in Nevada. The projected cash flow from these three projects, combined with potential future cash flows from our royalty properties, will allow us to achieve our goal of becoming a sustainable, growth oriented, profitable gold producer."
The company's address is: Atna, Suite 510 - 510 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 3A8, 604.684.2285, fax: 604.684.8887; Canyon, 14142 Denver West Parkway, Suite 250, Golden, CO 80401, (303) 278-8464, fax: (303) 279-3772.